Cartoon Drawing Decoder (Home Study)
A cartooning course that teaches you to copy and “decode” cartoons accurately so that you can cartoon anything, simply by copying the cartoonists you admire.
You want to learn to cartoon but you don’t know how to draw….
And you don’t know what to draw to help you learn how to draw… so that you can draw cartoons!
You’re like a pendulum — back and forth you swing — between the two questions of how to draw vs. what to draw.
What you need is a clear, systematic process to get you going
You need to know how to start. So that you can leave the frustration of the “how vs. what pendulum” behind and actually start making progress.
Introducing: the Cartoon Drawing Decoder…
How to Decode any Cartoon to Draw Faster and More Instinctively
You start off by learning how to ‘decode’ and recreate any cartoon character you see, to build the concrete drawing skills you need to draw something right in front of you, or something that only exists inside your head).
You also discover what makes something “a character” so that you can use that knowledge to develop your own future cartoon characters.
And throughout you’ll be using the inspiration of cartoons you know and love to build the foundations of your own personal cartooning style.
What you’ll learn in this cartooning course – the Cartoon Drawing Decoder
A non-intimidating system to develop your drawing skills
You may think drawing is an inborn talent, but that’s not the case. “Talent” is skill and skill comes from knowing what to practice, and how. I give you detailed exercises and a system to build your drawing skill via classic cartoons.
How to troubleshoot when things ‘don’t look quite right”
Specific self-correction techniques that help you eyeball your own work to be able to fix it so that you keep your skills growing, step by step.
Add extra life and energy to every cartoon
Using the right starting point and basic technique sounds simple, and it is. You’ll find it makes all the difference in the world.
How to develop your own personal style
A cartooning style soon becomes as unique as your handwriting, as long as you keep feeding it with inspiration and let it develop naturally. You’ll learn how to keep it evolving.
But what if you can’t draw at all?
The most common question I get is, “Are you sure I don’t need to be able to draw to do this? And will I really be able to draw afterwards?”
Fear, not! This cartooning course was developed by an adult beginner, and designed to require ZERO drawing ability to succeed.
The exercises are designed to take you step-by-tiny-step from being unable to draw, to confidently tackling relatively complex cartoons… within a matter of weeks.
If you can hold a pencil, you can succeed with this course.
And what if you CAN draw already?
You’ll still learn valuable skills, and increase your confidence to draw at a level that pleases you.
Some cartooning courses seem to require certain skills just to get started. That’s not the case for the Drawing Decoder. If you can hold a pencil, you have what it takes to succeed with this course.
The process was very good and I liked the pacing
I think this is a course for people with more than a passing interest in cartooning. It is not a long course and you really need to be willing to carve out a little time each day. It is easy to feel like you are falling behind. It helps to make the decision at the beginning that you are not going to let that bother you when you do.
I thought the process was very good. Alison didn't try to stuff too much in and overload. And I liked the pacing. The first day of really doing nothing but reading what you should be doing for the week was a great way for me to start.
Doing this course has given me the confidence to tackle more complex cartoon characters
I didn't really know what I was buying, if I'm honest - the name of the course confused me at first! Now, I think it's a very accurate name ("decoding" really is what I have learned) and I know I can figure out any cartoon, given a bit of time and a few attempts to refine what I'm doing.
I used to dread art class at school and felt utterly hopeless with paint, pens, pencils or anything else arty. Doing this course has given me the confidence to tackle and even pose more complex cartoon characters than I imagined I'd be able to do.
I’d recommend this course to any beginner cartoonists.
I liked [learning] quite quickly how to draw resemblances of admired cartoons. And knowing this skill can be used on any cartoon illustration and eventually used in creative ways to explore coming up with your own stuff.
I'd recommend this course to any beginner cartoonists. A great way to get basic building blocks to see how cartoon characters are put together and to start making your own. I'd say to expect structure and method. No experience necessary.
A tiny insight into what you will learn
- The fastest way to get started so that you don’t get blocked when faced with a blank page
- How to deconstruct and reconstruct any cartoon character so that you can find and fix your own errors
- Which components to focus on first (so that you draw quickly and accurately)
- Targeted exercises that build hand-eye coordination for accurate work in future
- ‘Chunking-down’ so that you don’t just throw in the towel when things look complicated
- A soothingly-simple tool that by-passes your analytical brain to draw more instinctively (instead of overthinking every pencil mark)
- How to harness your inspirations to build your unique cartooning style
- Two simple things that add cartoony-ness to the most basic sketch
- How to tap into an endless stream of ideas and references that will keep your skills growing
- Workflow tips to help you cartoon even when you don’t have much time available
- How to build your visual vocabulary so that you have more and more memories to ‘draw’ from
You’ll learn a lot, but in such a non-threatening way that you’ll be amazed at the level and effectiveness of the cartooning skills you end up with.
What’s Inside?
Short, draw-along videos
Clearly-defined exercises
Peer examples
Detailed FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I don’t have experience drawing beyond basic art class in school, which was over 30 years ago. Is that OK for this course?
It is safe to say that you will need none of that basic art class skill! I couldn’t draw a thing when I started cartooning at the age of forty 😀
Q: I want to draw a “me”. And I want to draw a “critter” interacting with “me”. Will the course give me this skill, assuming I show up and do the homework?
The Decoder course will give you the tools to get you well on your way; there’s no way forward without a foundation. It’s offers the kickstart and ability to copy almost any existing cartoon with relative confidence, which then enables you to take what you love from any cartoon and splice everything together to keep evolving.
Q: I intend to use my iPad to draw, is that OK?
Excellent, I couldn’t be happier. Procreate is the best iPad drawing app out there for the sort of cartooning we do here. It does have a learning curve… I can give you the pointers that will get you off on the right foot.
Q: How much time do people usually put into the cartoon drawing course?
You’ll need to carve out 30-60 minutes for cartooning, 3 days a week. If you can add 15-30 minutes to doodle around another 2 days in the week, you will be flying.
Q: How long will I need?
The content is designed for 15-20 minute sessions over 4 weeks (3-4 sessions a week), however you can set whatever pace you are comfortable with.
Q: Do I get any support or feedback?
This is a home-study cartoon drawing course. You will be working by yourself. So you can go at your own pace. Only the Premium version offers email input from Alison.
Q: What is the price?
The current price is stated below
I had a secret, unspoken fear that I’d be terrible, that it would become clear to me that I had no ability to draw whatsoever.
Instead, I learned valuable skills, and I've increased my confidence that I will learn to draw to a level that pleases me. (I'm not there yet, but I've made great progress).
The feature I liked best about the course
I liked the "decoding" aspect, how Alison taught us how to see circles and other shapes in familiar images (and in negative space as well).
I liked the specific homework assignments, though I sometimes struggled to do them daily.
About other benefits of the course:
- The videos allowed me to see [Alison] do the work [she] was asking me to attempt.
- Having both written and video instructions was helpful.
- The circley-circle pigs assignment created early success. And early success can be a big factor in helping people stay motivated, so that was terrific.
I'd recommend the course for anyone who'd like to improve their cartooning skills
The skills build upon each other, so you'll keep applying the insights from earlier lessons as you learn new concepts, but the guidelines are specific and clear so it doesn't feel like you have a million things you need to remember for every assignment.
What this cartooning course is NOT about
1) It’s not about learning to cartoon in a specific style
Cartooning styles are as unique as handwriting, everyone draws slightly differently even when drawing the same thing. This course is about helping you draw well enough to develop your own cartoon style over time.
2) It’s not about “gag” cartoons and side-splitting humour
Yes, cartoons are meant to be entertaining, but figuring out humour is a skill for further down the line. This course is about enabling you to draw well enough to create scenes for your humorous future stories
3) It’s not about drawing accurate anatomy
If you want to draw Manga characters or superheroes with hyper-realistic human anatomy, this is not the place for that.
4) It’s not about mastering cartooning software
While you will see me using digital tools (and you are also welcome to do so) the course doesn’t cover Procreate or anything similar. It is focused 100% on the nitty-gritty of drawing skills and character decoding which can then be applied in any medium, digital or analogue.
What’s unique about this cartooning course?
Most drawing courses are broad, dry and technical. Like art classes at school, they make you feel utterly hopeless with pens, pencils, paint or anything else “arty”.
This cartooning course will have you doodling circle-y pigs from the first moment (and giggling out loud because what ‘falls out of your pencil’ will be far better than you expected). It will give you confidence to tackle far more complex cartoon characters than you imagined you’d be able to.
Ali’s No-Questions-Asked Guarantee
What if this cartooning course isn’t good for you? This product is guaranteed for a whole month.
If for any reason you don’t like this course, email me within 30 days and I’ll refund you in full — no questions asked.
I had total trust in the course and in Alison
After doing the great stickman course, I had totally trust in the course and in Alison.
I learned a lot. Things like this:
- "In cartoonland is everything possible"
- Out of mess you get the most beautiful drawings. When I not think before what I wanna draw exact, it just coming out of your pencil.
- Directly drawing on the iPad.
What I liked best about the course
The last week, I was so surprised about the things coming out of my pencil. Before I would look to my white paper, look again… and take a lot of time before starting. Now, all over the day, idea’s popping up in my head and sometimes just sitting on the bank with the iPad or with a piece of paper, [ideas] just coming out of my pencil.
I would recommend the course for ...
...everybody who wants to build up more drawing skills.
Cartoon Drawing Decoder Home-study
| Drawing Decoder Home-study | Regular | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Drawing Decoder videos | ✓ | ✓ |
| Drawing Decoder notes | ✓ | ✓ |
| Participant examples | ✓ | ✓ |
| Detailed FAQ’s and Tips | ✓ | ✓ |
| BIG Bonus | ||
|
E-mail questions and get input from Alison on your individual work
(an e-mail/ week for 6 weeks, valid for 3 months)
$240 value
|
✓ | |
|
$169 *
|
$175 *
|
Note: * Prices shown here are exclusive of applicable sales tax/VAT in your location.
What happens after you click “Enroll”?
You’ll be taken to the course sign-up page. Click on the large green button that says “Enroll in Course for $175”.
You’ll be asked to pay, and to create an account with Teachable — the class is hosted on my cartooning school site on Teachable.com.
Once you have paid and created your Teachable account, you’ll be able to Login immediately and access the material.
Very important note!
Don’t be confused by the smaller “Sign up” button in the top right hand corner… choose the more detailed button right in the middle of the page!
P.S. A final thought: If you want to draw cartoons for your business or life, it’s a fun, light-hearted practice. You’ll be sketchily cartooning for 15-30 minutes a few times a week to keep the flow of ideas rolling. No cartoonist sits down cold and bangs out a cartoon on demand — there are always rough ideas that we are tinkering with in the background.
Is it time to “let the [cartoon] times roll”?
This course condenses all the wisdom from working with clients since 2014. You’ll find it will help you to learn to draw cartoons with more confidence and figure out any cartoon, given a bit of time and a few attempts to refine what you’re doing.
Questions?
If you have questions, please email me directly using the link below at the bottom of the page, and let me know how I can help.